Defiant and the Courageous
by monbade
Summary: Meet Retired Rear Admiral Peter Gallant owner of Milcove, the largest armament and ship building company on Virgon. Its 9 years before the attack, and as his father and grandfather always said. They will be back and it was drilled into all the family members. So begins Operation Azure Deep.
1. D&C Ch 00

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**Defiant and the Courageous**

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**Prologue**

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**The Cylons were created by Man.**

**They were created to make life easier on the Twelve Colonies.**

**And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.**

**After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.**

**The Cylons left for another world to call their own.**

**A remote space station was built...**

**...where Cylon and Human could meet and maintain diplomatic relations.**

**Every year, the Colonials send an officer.**

**The Cylons send no one.**

**No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years...**

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**Until Now.**

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**Eight years before the attack;**

**Picon;**

Thirty-eight year old Rear Admiral Peter Gallant stood in front of Picon fleet headquarters. Clutched in his right hand was a briefcase that contained his resignation to the Colonial Navy due to the death of his father under mysterious circumstances. Taking a deep breath, he walked up the fifty-eight steps towards the glass doors. Made of white granite, the building was nine stories above ground and twenty below. From inside the building, thousands of colonial personal ran the vast military aspects of the fleet. From the smallest long range Raptor to the mighty _Titan_ class battlestars. As he reached the door, it opened electronically and he walked in, pulling out his military id card to show at the security desk.

"Can I help you?" the lieutenant asked as he looked up from his computer.

"Admiral Gallant, to see Admiral's Nagala and Corman," Peter replied as he handed his id to the young man.

"Yes, Sir. Please sign in," the Lieutenant asked as he slid a clipboard over.

Peter signed the paper as the Lieutenant typed on the keyboard.

"Admiral Nagala and Admiral Corman are waiting for you in Admiral Nagala's office," replied the officer as he set the ID badge down on the counter.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Peter said as he picked up the ID badge.

Peter walked up to the elevator and pressed the call button as he thought of what had happened in the last week. The death of his father and grandfather last week when their shuttle had exploded as it was heading to the Milcove foundry station in orbit of Virgon, had hurt the family business. The death of the two CFOs of the business, plus ten of the twelve board directors, had basically shut down the business. Called in by his mother, he had been ordered to resign, and take over the business. One of the things he found was several hidden folders call Operation Azure Deep. The basics of the plan called for the building if a secret colony as a last resort in case the Cylons came back in a full fledged war.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open on the ninth floor. Walking down the hallway to the glass doors at the end, he nodded to the two marines and stepped inside. There were three secretaries working in the room. There was one to his right and to his left. A third was directly ahead of him, which was his destination.

"Good morning. Admiral Gallant, to see Admirals Nagala and Corman," Peter said as he came to a stop.

"Yes, Admiral. They are waiting for you in Admiral Nagala's office," the young woman said as she stood up, "Please follow me."

Peter followed the woman and they weaved their way through the hallway to another door where she knocked.

"Come in," a voice called out.

The woman opened the door and Peter strolled into the room.

The room was seventy feet wide and fifty feet deep. Directly ahead was a large black desk with several monitors on it along with two stacked boxes that said IN and OUT. The floor was black marble, and there were four crystal chandlers hanging from the ceiling. Shelves lined the walls that had models of all the ship in the fleet. Stepping into the room, he looked around. To his left were several blue couches, and a small coffee table. Sitting on two of the three couches were his bosses. Nagala was sitting on the couch while Corman was making a drink at the bar.

"Peter! Come on in," Thomas Nagala said from where he was sitting sipping his drink.

"Peter, want something to drink?" Corman asked.

"Ambrosia, if you have it," Peter replied as he walked down into where the couches were and came to attention and saluted.

"Knock that shit off. I've known you too long for it. Now what's up Peter?" Nagala asked.

"Sir, it's with great difficulty that I tender my resignation as an officer of the fleet," Peter said as he opened his briefcase and handed one of the folders to his boss.

Thomas took the folder and opened it. Looking at the sheet of paper he said, "Why?"

"With the deaths of my father and grandfather, it falls to me to continue running the family business," Peter replied as Corman walked over and handed him his glass.

"You will be missed but we understand the reasoning since Milcove supplies twenty percent of our small craft and thirty percent of our armor for our marines and that's not counting what Milcove Foundries supplies the fleet," Thomas said as he closed the folder.

"Thank you, Sir…" Peter stopped talking and looked at the second folder in his hand.

"What is it, Peter?" Corman asked as he saw the young admiral hesitate.

"Sir… it's… Well, it seems my father and grandfather were… no, they had an operation under way. This operation was to be a last resort… a way to save some of our people if the Cylons came back and we lost. Here, let me show you," Peter said as he ran his finger down the folder and unsealed it. Opening the folder he pulled out two more and handed each of his former bosses one.

"My grandfather named it 'Operation Azure Deep,'" Peter said as he leaned back onto the couch where he was sitting.

Admiral Nagala and Corman read through the proposal, and then started again at the assets that Milcove was putting together.

"It's a good plan, but could be classified as treason if the government became involved," Admiral Peter Corman said as he closed the folder and set it on the coffee table.

"I don't see how. It's not a crime to leave the twelve colonies," Peter replied as he set his drink down.

"No, but asking for those military assets could be," Corman said and then added, "He wants a minimum of four battlestars and twelve Gunstars for system defense."

"It can work, and we have the spare ships in the storage yards..."

"Thomas, those are for use in an emergency," Corman said.

"I know, but think of it this way. What if we use this to move some of the ships out of the storage yard to a new storage yard? I know we cannot send many of the Battlestars, but we have several hundred lighter ships… including auxiliary ships… just sitting and rotting away," Thomas replied and then asked, "Peter, can your people keep them up to snuff?"

"We can, if we're not overwhelmed with too many ships, at first. It would take time to get everything up and running. We could probably handle about thirty ships at first, and then maybe ten to fifteen a year after that," Peter replied.

"Could you keep them upgraded?" Corman asked.

"That's a good question, as you know most upgrades are done at Scorpio shipyards, and all the parts would have to be locally made. The best way would be if something is upgraded on a ship at Scorpio, pack the items removed and ship them out to us. That way we're only one upgrade behind," Peter said.

"Sounds good to me. It says in your plan that your father picked out a world. What's so special about it?" Thomas asked as he looked up from his folder.

"It's a water world, similar to Aquaria, but with no major land masses. She has two moons, and tens of thousands of islands and coral reefs. My grandfather's scans said the native fish life is editable along with the birds that fly from island to island. There are no native animals but I was thinking of introducing cattle, swine and chickens and such to the islands," Peter said.

"It would take a long time to build domes…"

"My father has seven city domes under construction out at Milcove Construction, near the belt. He used them as attachments for the station but in reality they will be for the world we want to use. Each is based on the city 'Aqua,' but are thirty percent larger. Each city will be able to hold fifty thousand inhabitants, once all the construction is finished in each. Right now, I'm only planning for about five thousand people at this time…"

"Not many people. Why so few?" Corman said.

"True. I plan on increasing that number, later. Currently we have seven of the cities under construction, with two complete. The reason for having so few, is I want to move my people out there, first… meaning the families of my workers. Now, each city will be connected by transit tubes, just as they have connected Aqua to Heim. That, as you know, is the only city on the surface of Aquaria," Peter said.

"How will you get the cities there?" Thomas asked.

"That's where I need your help," Peter said and then added, "Due to budget cuts, the fleet is going to be reduced. Some of the ships on the list are repair ships. The first of these are two of the oldest _Ranger_ class mobile yards. I want to buy them from the fleet…"

"Those are strategic assets. We cannot sell them," Corman stated as he picked up his glass.

"True, but you can rent them out…"

Nagala burst out into laughter as he set the folder down, "you sly dagget, you! That we can do. If I remember right the _Crayfin_ and _Corus_ are the second and third ships in line, and will be the first to be decommissioned. I will rent them out if you bring them up to fleet standard," he said.

"I can do that. It will take at least three years for all the domes to be finished and to launch several other ships that are under construction," Peter said.

"Good, then we'll get you the fleet you need to defend your world. It won't be a full Battle Group, but what we can get you should keep you safe, for now," Thomas said and then added, "This must be kept top secret. There will be no paperwork that could get found. If anyone asks on the ships, your company has taken up a contract to store the ships at your construction station, and then decommission the older ones that we don't need. What you do with them after they are signed off doesn't matter, as long as you have a few parts from the ships stored, as if they had been dismantled: like the name plate sections, for instance."

"That would work," Peter said with a smirk.

"We'll cycle some semi newer ships to you as well. It won't be many, but even some will help with your plan," Corman said as he thought of several ships that could be sent to Milcove Industries.

"Thank you, Sir. Shall we meet, say, twice a month? The 1st and 16th would be convenient for some golf. We'll talk out on the grass if we have any new ideas," Peter stated.

"Sounds good to me," Thomas said as he stood up and handed the folder back to Peter, "Peter it's with great reluctance that I accept your resignation from the colonel fleet's active duty list. I will have the paperwork drawn up stating you are on leave indefinitely, as of this date. May her many strengths follow you in your endeavors," he said as he held out his hand.

Peter shook the hand of his former boss, and took the folders back.

Shaking Admiral Corman's hand, he said, "Thank you, Sirs."

Peter turned and left the room, heading for the elevator and a new mission.

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**New Chapter will be up by ****Tuesday**_**  
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_**Proofing by SneakySis**_

_**First Edited By Futurist**_

_**Final Edit By TeNdErLoin**_

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Battlestar Galactica™ is a registered trademark and copyright (©) Glen Larson & the SciFi Channel. Thank you to the Battlestar Wiki and The Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game, Battlestar Prometheus have proven invaluable for the information they contain. All material found in this story is for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement should be inferred or is intended. Battlestar Sword and all its original characters and story lines presented here are the copyright (©) of their creator (©) 2010.


	2. D&C Ch 01

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**Defiant and the Courageous**

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**Chapter One**

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,

**.**

**The Cylons were created by Man.**

**They were created to make life easier on the Twelve Colonies.**

**And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.**

**After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.**

**The Cylons left for another world to call their own.**

**A remote space station was built...**

**...where Cylon and Human could meet and maintain diplomatic relations.**

**Every year, the Colonials send an officer.**

**The Cylons send no one.**

**No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years...**

**.**

**Until Now.**

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,

**.**

**Deep space;**

**Six years before the attack;**

**CIC of the Battlestar **_**Defiant;**_

Retired Rear Admiral Peter Gallant stood at the dradis screen, watching the former ships of BSG 28 appear around his ship. The _Jupiter_ class Battlestar _Defiant_ had been retired due to supposed computer problems, along with her sister ship, the _Courageous_. Manned by employees of Milcove Industries, the ships had jumped to the system of five planets and a yellow star, where they had watched for trouble from the Cylons for the last ten days. Over the last three years, ships owned by Milcove had scouted the system for any sign of their old enemy. None was found. At the same time, they scanned the system for what they needed in the way of raw materials. They were quite pleased with what they had found.

Of the systems planets, two of them were lifeless rock, close to the primary. The first planet in the system circled the primary every ninety days, as it spun every forty days. Surface temperatures varied. The side towards the sun would reach eight hundred Kelvin while the backside of the planet reached temperatures of minus three hundred Kelvin by day twenty. The planet was very rich in iron and they planned on mining the planet if they could. The planet had captured a small asteroid that was five hundred kilometers in circumference. It circled the planet as a moon.

The second planet circled the primary every two hundred nine days. The surface temperatures varied from minus two hundred and fifty Kelvin to plus six hundred. The planet was rich in many minerals, and mining would eventually be started on the planet when a dome was built and deposited on its surface. The atmosphere was poisonous, but that could be worked around. It was also thickly cloud covered, so that the city would be hidden from space. The planet had six moons of various sizes that circled the planet.

The third world would have had a perfect temperate zone, that could have supported life, if it'd had a large enough landmass. Since it didn't, they would have to make do with underwater cities. There were thousands of islands and coral reefs that dotted the surface. Some ranged from just pinpricks from the ocean's floor, while others were twenty miles around. The massive typhoons that swept across the planet were strong enough to prevent any permanent surface settlement. She also had two moons that were opposite from each other. They affected the weather, and caused the weakest of the typhoons to be in 'Category Five' on the scale.

Four days before, the _Defiant_ had deployed twenty oceanic satellites to scan the ocean floor. Hundreds of places had been found to deploy the major city domes, and the agricultural domes. It took Peter less than a day to choose the best location for the deployment of the domes.

The fourth planet was a gas giant. Its atmosphere was very dense, but did not prevent scans from seeing into the clouds of gas. It also had a prominent ring system that consisted of fifteen main rings. There were also seven discontinuous arcs, composed mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. The thing that was amazing about the rings was their thickness. In some areas, they were from four hundred and twenty kilometers to seven hundred and fifty kilometers thick.

Fleet Raptors scouting the rings had found the perfect hiding place for the station. The central ring seemed to bulge in places. Deep inside one bulge, there had formed a pocket that was roughly nine thousand kilometers across, and three hundred kilometers thick. This was where the station was going to be placed to keep it hidden from observation, along with the shipyard and smelting yards. The bulge also had a tunnel system that would allow ships to come in and go out of the pocket. The tunnels had branches that broke off and headed deeper into the ring system. These would be investigated after the station was up and running. Six large asteroids were currently drifting in the pocket. They would be used as raw material, for building.

Scans of the planet had determined that the core was composed of iron, nickel and rock (silicon and oxygen compounds). This was surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and an outer layer of mixed gasses. The planet exhibited a pale yellowish hue due to the ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere. Electrical current within the metallic hydrogen layer was thought to give rise to the planetary magnetic field, but that was not positively determined at this time. Ram scoop ships would be used to mine the gaseous clouds for hydrogen and other gasses, or they would be, as soon as they were built. The planet also had nine moons, and twelve asteroids that were the equivalent of smaller moons.

The fifth planet was a solid ice ball that circled the sun every five hundred and ten years. The temperature of the planet was a constant twenty-four Kelvin. The surface was a solid frozen wasteland, while the core was dense rock. There were three moons that circled the planet, all of which were rich in metals and Tylium.

There were three asteroid fields in the system, one was between the first and second planets. It was rich in metals like iron, aluminum, copper and lead. The second was between the water world and the gas giant. It had heavy concentrates of Tylium and other heavy metals. The third field was near the fifth planet. The planet would actually skim the outer parts of the band, on occasion, because of the size of the debris field. Each field had several larger asteroids that were larger than the _Defiant_.

The station and underwater cities were being supplied by the Milcove Foundation for Exploration which was run by Gallant family of Virgon. Peter's family had run the war industry on Virgon during the first war, supplying the colonial forces with thousands of tanks, Vipers and Raptors. Eleven years ago, his father and grandfather developed a plan to set up a new colony on a planet that his great grandfather had found, twenty-nine years before the first war.

With detailed descriptions and exact location of the system he formed a plan. The destabilization of the Military by the government had continued to climb after he had approached Admirals Nagala and Corman, when he was forced to retire and take over the company due to the death of his father and grandfather. He would back the start up of the new colony, if they would supply the escorts for the system. They had agreed. Quickly and quietly they had transferred some decommissioned ships to his command.

The system's fleet consisted of four Battlestars: the retired _Jupiter_ class ships _Defiant_ and _Courageous;_ and two old _Atlas_ class battlestars, the _Aurora_ and _Dragon._ There were twelve _Titan_ _I_ class _Gunstars_: _Cutter, Revenge, Briseis, Jasper, Ephira, Onyx, Badger, Opossum, Wild Boar, Rinaldo, Lyra _and the_ Drake. _Three _Berzerk I_ class cruisers… the _Tiger_, _Tigress_, and _Empress_… would form the basic defense fleet for the system.

Two rented_ Ranger_ class Mobile Repair Ships had been quietly removed from one of the ship storage yards, two years before. They had been upgraded, and were manned by ex-military personnel now employed by Milcove. Once the upgrades had been completed the _Crayfin_ and _Corus_ were quickly loaded with supplies for the mission. The _Corus_ had the space station for the system tethered, while the _Crayfin_ carried a floating dock for the third planet.A third _Ranger _class ship, the_ Grindlewin_ had been quietly decommissioned and _lost_ in the paperwork of a major bureaucracy. She had been handed over to Milcove, and manned with the reserve crewmen for the _Crayfin_ and _Corus_. She was carrying the first pair of the planned eight pylons, which would be attached to the station.

Two mining ships, the _Harvester_ and the _Combine_ would be used to mine the asteroid fields. The refinery ship _Caspian_ would process the Tylium into refined fuel, while the forge ships _Groton_ and _Lydia_ would manufacture the items needed until the underwater cities were up and running. The ship _Gryphon's Pride_, a twenty-six year old electronics repair ship, would repair and build electronic equipment such as Vid screens, circuit boards, and microchips. These would be needed in the colony, as well as for the defense satellites. For fuel storage and refueling, there were two old _Saturn_ fleet tankers: _Valiant_, and _Typhoon._ The decommissioned _Theda_ class ammunition ship, _Theda_, and the two _Saturn's,_ would be connected to the station, adding to its mass.

Ten modified Milcove _Ebba Maersk_ class super freighters carried the construction supplies, as well as five brand new construction submarines purchased from Aquaria. Three old _Lusitania_ class liners catered to the workers and their families. There were three of the new _Octopus_ tugs (_Squid_, _Crayfish_ and _Turtle_) that would be used for hauling and tows once the station was up and running.

Peter looked up as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw his second in command coming towards him, with a clipboard in his hand.

"Boss, the fleet has finished jumping into the system. All ships are accounted for, along with their escorts. The _Grindlewin_ dropped the two pylon docks it was carrying. It has FTLed home for two more of the docks, along with the _Tigress_, and _Empress_. The tugs _Crayfish_ and _Turtle_ are heading for the docks to grapple them. Commander Gram reports he is taking the _Crayfin_ to the third planet to insert the floating dock. Estimated time of completion of drop is one hour after they enter the atmosphere," reported retired Colonel Howard Hanks.

"What about Commander Sturm of the _Corus?" _Peter asked.

Howard looked at the clipboard and flipped through the messages, "Kyla says she will have the station unhooked, thirty minutes after she reaches the pocket. Full power should be up and running twenty minutes after that, but the docks will take two weeks to connect and have everything up and running."

"Send orders to the _Lyra _and the_ Drake._ They are to escort the _Corus_ into the pocket. The tugs are to take of the pylons under tow into the pocket and will standby to start attaching them to the station. The third task is to lock on to the asteroids inside the pocket, and stop them from drifting out…"

"Sir, the _Crayfin_ has just jumped to the third planet," came the report from another station.

"Prepare the _Defiant_ to jump to the planet, standard screening in force. Land our Vipers," Peter ordered.

"Aye-aye, Sir," and "Yes, Sir," came the replies from around the CIC.

"Destination plotted. We jump in thirty seconds," the FTL commander said from his station.

On the main screen Hydra and Gorgon squadrons were landing on both flight pods.

Peter gripped the hand rail mounted to the dradis station, as the countdown went from ten to zero.

"Five."

"Last viper landed on Beta pod," came a shout from the left.

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"FTL engaged."

"Jump."

The fifteen hundred meter long ship vanished into FTL to appear thirty seconds later off the _Crayfin's_ port stern quarter. Vipers were launched to perform a cap for the six ships. Eight Raptors were launched, as well. The Raptors plunged into the atmosphere as the small fleet of warships formed up around the mobile repair ship.

"Send Commander Gram the sensor data from the satellites, and the data as to where I have chosen to place the domes, so he knows where to set the dock down," Peter ordered.

"Sending now," the com tech replied.

On the main monitor, one of the cameras had caught the _Crayfin_ as she vanished into FTL again.

"_Crayfin_ has FTLed inside the atmosphere. She is descending to the water surface now. Raptor squadrons three and four have her in sight," came the report.

"Lower the large screen and shunt the Raptors video feed to the screen," Peter ordered.

The giant one hundred inch monitor lowered from the ceiling where it was stored and came on. The image rolled for a second and then stopped. In the center of the screen, was the giant repair ship as it descended towards the planetary surface, clutched to her belly using all three of the magnetic clamps was the two kilometer dock.

"_Crayfin_ reports that the dock will be lowered to the surface in two minutes if all goes well with the magnetic clamps," came the report from the com station.

"Good. How soon will Major Grell be able to start up operations after the dock is inserted," Peter asked.

Peter looked over at the com station and watched the techs chatting on their headsets.

"Sir, Major Grell says that as soon as his teams report in from checking the dock for leaks, he will call in the first of the _Ebba Maersks_ to bring in the subs, and the transit tubes…"

"Let's get the subs on the surface and the tubes on the bottom of the ocean," Peter ordered.

The com officer passed his orders along and then turned in her chair, "Sir, Colonel Grell says go ahead and deploy them. He expects it to take an hour for the dock to be up and running, and four hours for the first of the _Ebba Maersks _to actually land and start unloading."

"Good. Send word to the five _Ebba Maersk _freighters that I want those subs they're carrying in the water ASAP," Peter ordered as monitor showed the _Crayfin_ releasing the dock on the surface.

The dock dropped from the clamps of the _Crayfin_ and hit the water with a huge splash. Water flew outward as the _Crayfin_ fired its engines and lifted up from the surface of the planet. The first dock sank down into the water, and then the two kilometer long five hundred meter wide dock shot back to the surface. Water rushing off of its surface. The dock had over two thousand personnel on board, to man the miniature city until the city domes arrived next year. The dock wallowed as the massive waves came back and slammed into the ten inch thick armored hull. Eventually it stilled. Then giant bursts of air flew out of sealed vents, and it settled until it was only thirty feet was above the water, with a hundred feet of the hull submerged.

The plan was to eventually submerge the dock to three hundred feet, and use a special pulley system to anchor to a triple platform that was connected to the tube system. This system would allow large loads to be transported through the tube system to the connected cities.

"Admiral, the dock is down, and _Ebba Maersk One_ is descending now," came the report from the com station.

"Thank you, Com. Contact the other ships, and notify them that I want those subs in the water ASAP. We have to start on the construction of the support pylons for the docks," Peter ordered.

"_Ebba Maersk Two_ and _Three_ have started their descent. Captain Rask and Myers report they will start deploying the anchor bases as soon as they are over the target," the com officer reported.

"Good. Send orders to the _Crayfin_, I want her to jump back to base for the support towers for the platform. I want all three towers here ASAP," Peter ordered.

He felt a headache coming, from all the plans going on at once.

Peter walked to his reserved station and opened his laptop computer. He brought up a three dimensional image of what was going to happen under the ocean surface. Sitting back, he thought about what was going to happen and the first thing was the location of where they'd picked. The depth of the ocean floor was fifteen hundred meters at the location of the dock and the three support towers were fourteen hundred meters long which was just under the length of a _Ranger_ class mobile yard and one hundred meters across or a circumference of roughly three hundred meters. It would take three jumps for the _Crayfin_ to bring all three towers to the world and deliver them to their insertion point. Each tube was hollow except for the magnetic coils that went down the inside of the tube for the elevators that would raise and lower the cargo for the cities. One end of the tube went into a needle sharp point that would penetrate the ocean floor using the weight of the tube and the water that would fill the transit tube. The point of the tube was solid battle-steel and weighed several hundred metric tons, that weight and the weight of the water would force the tube two hundred meters into the sea floor.

The tubes outer casing was twelve inches of battle-armor over a rib section with another six inch thick inner hull. The section between the two hulls was filled with a tough waterproof foam that increased the protection of the tube. The top of the tube was sealed with an iris. Once set up, the platform attachments would be lowered from the dock onto each tube. Then they'd be magnetically sealed to the tube to form a transfer station. As the weight of the dock settled onto the tube, it would be forced deeper into the ocean floor to stabilize the platforms.

Where the seafloor transit tubes would be connected there were four thirty meter long flanges that would prevent the transit connectors from being forced under the sea floor. Each tube would then be anchored to the seabed, using battlestar mooring cables to keep them stable but still allow them to sway with the current.

The hardest part, once all the cities were down on the sea floor, would be connecting them with the transit tubes. Each section would be brought to the dock by an _Ebba Maersk_ class super-freighter. Currently they had twenty kilometers of the tubes made along with the support pylons which would come in first. Each section of transit tube was a five hundred meters long and thirty meters wide. Each of the _Ebba Maersks_ could carry eight of the tubes at once time.

Peter watched as the freighters entered the atmosphere and descended to the surface of the planet. On the main monitor, it split in four. Three of the images were of the freighters while the forth was the dock which had settled down from its dunking into the vast ocean and _Ebba Maersk One _was settling next to the station. Inside each of the two large cargo boxes she was carrying was one of the one hundred meter long construction submarines. The boxes were lowered into the water and water started rushing into the boxes through vents in the sides. Ten minutes later, the end of the first box opened.

"Major Grell reports that both submersibles are online and released from their holding straps," came the report from the com station.

"On the screen please," Peter ordered.

The screen changed showing the front of _Ebba Maersk One_ and the opened box containers. The one on the right showed the first sub underway with several men and women standing on the deck, as the sub left the confinement of the box. The second sub seemed to be waiting for the first one to exit its box before coming out. Each of the subs front ends looked like the front end of an octopus tug with eight metal arms that had multiple features built into them.

"Sub one has left the cargo container and is proceeding to the dock to enter the rear port side bay. Sub two is under way now," came the report.

"_Ebba Maersk Two _and_ Three _have delivered the first of the transit tubes. Small craft from the dock are heading over to them now," another officer reported.

"Good. Notify Major Grell he is promoted to Colonel and is to assume all command of surface operations…"

"Sir, the _Crayfin_ and the_ Grindlewin_ are back," Colonel Hanks reported as he looked up from his dradis board.

"That was a fast turnaround," Peter said as he looked at the clock and realized three hours had gone by. Standing up and walked over to the dradis screen and looked at it. The screen showed the _Grindlewin _dropping off two more pylons while the_ Crayfin _was heading to the planet with one of the support tubes.

"Notify the _Courageous_ that I want those docks inside the bulge ASAP, just in case someone shows up," Peter ordered.

He looked up at the main screen to see _Ebba Maersk One_ drifting over the dock where she lowered the empty submersible containers along with six smaller ones from her stern magnetic clamps onto the deck of the dock.

"Notify the _Ebba Maersk One_ to jump back to Milcove Station, and pick up some more of the transit tubes and get me Colonel Grell on the horn," Peter ordered as he took a clipboard from the ensign.

"_Ebba Maersk One_ has lifted off from the surface and is heading for orbit," came a quick report from the com station.

"Colonel Grell is on line one."

Grabbing the handset, Peter punched the number one on the keypad, "Colonel, the Crayfin is in route with the central support pylon. I want to know how long to get her in the ground along with remaining two pylons?"

"Admiral, it all depends on how fast we can get them lined up and in position. If everything goes as planned, the first one will be in place by tonight and the remaining two by tomorrow. It's going to take about three hours to start filling the lower half of the tube with water once they are pointing down. We are deploying the concrete pillars now with the guide lines. _Ebba Maersk Five _and_ Six _have started dropping the twelve of the twenty ton steel blocks now. The first sub is heading down to retrieve the pulley cable. By the time she resurfaces the first pylon should be pointing down," Colonel Grell reported.

"Good, let me know when you will begin the operation, and good luck. _Defiant_ out," Peter said as he hung up.

"Land all our Vipers. The Raptors can stay here and act as SARs. Helm, jump us back to our original location," Peter ordered as he walked back to his seat and sat down.

On the main monitor, the screen shifted to show the landing bays and the returning Vipers. Two minutes after giving the orders the last Viper had landed.

"Sir, all Vipers are down," the CAG reported.

"Initiating jump in three… two… one… Jump."

The fifteen hundred meter long ship vanished into FTL as the rest of the squadron covered her former position.

_**. **_

_**. **_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_**First Edited By Futurist**_

_**Final Edit By TeNdErLoin**_

_**. **_

_**. **_

_**. **_

Battlestar Galactica™ is a registered trademark and copyright (©) Glen Larson & the SciFi Channel. Thank you to the Battlestar Wiki and The Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game, Battlestar Prometheus have proven invaluable for the information they contain. All material found in this story is for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement should be inferred or is intended. Battlestar Sword and all its original characters and story lines presented here are the copyright (©) of their creator (©) 2010.


	3. D&C Ch 02

**.**

**.**

**Defiant and the Courageous**

**. **

**. **

**Chapter Two**

,

,

**.**

**The Cylons were created by Man.**

**They were created to make life easier on the Twelve Colonies.**

**And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.**

**After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.**

**The Cylons left for another world to call their own.**

**A remote space station was built...**

**...where Cylon and Human could meet and maintain diplomatic relations.**

**Every year, the Colonials send an officer.**

**The Cylons send no one.**

**No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years...**

**.**

**Until Now.**

,

,

**.**

**Deep space;**

**Five years before the attack;**

**CIC of the Battlestar **_**Defiant;**_

It had been a busy year which saw the deployment of the dock, the seven underwater cities and the laying of several thousand kilometers of transit tubes as well as bringing Azure Station fully online. Inside the hidden pocket, the station stretched out where the three repair ships had been used to build the ships construction dock so they could build or scrap ships. The tunnels that weaved throughout the rings were mapped and several smaller pockets had been found and the transferred military ships had been stored there along with dozens of civilian ships that had been purchased from the bone yard. Some were scrapped while others were restored. These included the six remaining _Lusitania_ class liners built by Virgon thirty years before. With all fourteen of the liners under their control, they had the ability to carry a hundred thousand people in one jump. These large liners were picked for three reasons, their large carrying capacity, their medical bays and their ability to land on a planet. Addition ships were either purchased from the bone yard or built to their needs like the ram scoop freighters that were even now bringing loads of precious gases to the refinery part of the station.

"Sir, dradis confirms ships jumping in," Ensign Lou Hanson reported from the dradis station.

Peter turned to the main screen and watched as the ships arrived from Milcove station. The first were four specially built _Harvestor_ class Military Agro ships that had been built with special detachable domes. The four ships would land in the ocean on the planet and the domes would be swung out and lowered to the sea floor by special winches where they would be connected to prelaid transit tubes that would be built to connect all of them. Of the sixty domes, twenty had been set up for farm animals, twenty more for crops and the last twenty were set up as smaller cities that could hold five thousand families each. The other forty domes would have about five hundred hired employees to manage the domes and grow the food and raise the animals for the colony. The hulls of the ships would then be taken up to and attached to the new station to be used for housing for the workers that will be in charge of the shipyard.

"Send the orders to the _Harvestor's,_ that they're to proceed to the planet and deploy their domes," Peter ordered as more ships arrived on the screen.

Eight Milcove owned _Mule_ class freighters appeared. The military version of the standard freighter was carrying more supplies as well as five more construction submarines purchased from Aquaria construction station. The subs would be unloaded and loaded aboard one of the _Ebba Maersk _to be delivered to the planet. Beside them were three old _Granit_ class mining ships to help mine the system resources. The _Togo_, _Grim_ and _Hondo_ turned and headed towards the rings and the tunnel that would take them to the space station to empty their cargo holds of the cargo they had brought from Milcove Station.

"Is that it?" Peter asked.

"No… Dradis contact," replied his second in command.

Six new icons appeared on the screen showing the new ships. They were more of the _Octopus_ tugs (_Finback_, _Blue_ and _Coral_) that would be used for hauling and tows once the station was up and running and a pair of foundry ships they had picked up for a song when their company folded. They even picked up the eight hundred crew members and families who worked and manned the two ships which had arrived on the _Osiris_ one of the reconfigured _Lusitania_ liners. The last ship was an old _Gorgon_ class anti-Raider cruiser built for the first war. Decommissioned the warships were supposed to be scrapped but Milcove picked up five of them and had them rearmed and updated with modern weapons. The _Kore_ had been the best of the five with the other four still in the docks at Milcove station. The light cruiser was to be placed in one of the secondary tunnels as a roadblock in case they were attacked. If an attack happened the ship would move into the main branch and sit there with all her heavy weapons point towards the incoming enemy.

Peter looked up as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw his second and command coming towards him with a clipboard in his hand. With a small sigh he held out his hand for the reports he knew were coming his way.

"Why do you always hand them to me when we have new ships arriving?" Peter asked.

With a smirk, Colonel Howard Hanks replied, "Just seems to be the time I catch you."

"Yeah right," Peter replied as he started reading, "I know you like making my life hell… Ah crap, he said as he started flipping paged and then stopped as he snapped out an order, "Send a message to Milcove station and find out why there was an explosion in the number three dock. I want to know what just ripped apart that _Gorgon_ cruiser. Bring all defense ships up to yellow status."

"Yes, Sir," came the reply from the communications station as Peter went back to the reports.

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**Dock:**

**Planetary surface;**

**Command and Control;**

Colonel Richard Grell watched as the first of the _Harvestor's_ arrived over the floating dock and settle on the surface. The ship sank halfway into the ocean and then leveled off as the waves dissipated; she was followed by three more of her class.

"Sir, _Harvestor_ _One_ reports they are unloading the first dome now. Estimated time of completion is three days for all fifteen domes.

"Ok people, get me reports on all sections of the dock and any injuries of we have any. Get me a status report on the scrubber rooms and the intake vents for the filling of the tanks. I noticed that when we surfaced we had a slight tilt to port. Chief Hanson, I want all stabilization fans checked and make sure that all airlocks are checked and then double checked somewhere we have a leak or a stuck valve. Corporal Myers, get me that report on the escape capsules I asked for yesterday. I want to know if any need to be repaired before we submerge again. Lieutenant Zacks, send a message to Gryphon base. I want to know how the construction is going for the Raptor base and when we can send over those extra Raptors we're carrying," Colonel Grell ordered as he turned back to the main monitor.

Chief Julia Hanson twisted out from under the console she was working on it and replied, "Sir, I get right on it."

Corporal Tiffany Myers was already walking over and handed her boss the reports she knew he'd want, "Here you go sir. Escape capsule one-twenty-three and four are down due to an electrical short in their launcher the remaining capsules are working fine."

Over at the communications station, Lieutenant Anthony Zacks was sending out Colonel Grell's request.

One hour later, the main screen showed the first _Harvester_ floating on the surface and Richard watched as the ship sank deeper into the sea and the first of the top three domes floating free. One of the subs had been maneuvered into place and a cable stretched out to the dome. The dome started pulling away from the ship as the engines of the sub went to full power. As soon as the dome cleared the ship, the ship surfaced and the crew poured out of hatches to start removing the first of the ten foot long support pins that held the dome attached to the ship.

"Follow the dome with the camera," Richard ordered.

The screen shimmered and settled onto the dome being hauled away from the ship by the submarine. Once it was five hundred meters away, the slowed to a stop and the tow cable that was attached to the bow was loosened to slide along the rail built into the deck to the stern. Once locked in place, the submarine used its bow and stern thrusters to turn the ship in place so it was pointing away from the dome. Inside the ship, power plants came up to full power and the triples screws started turning. As the dome started moving away from the ship, fins were lowered to keep it on course for its destination thirty-five kilometers away.

Richard watched as the dome was towed away at ten knots. It would take three hours to get to their target location.

"Dome one has been released from _Harvestor Two_," the com officer reported.

"On screen," Richard ordered.

The screen changed to show the second Agro ship and its released dome as well as a second submarine moving in to attach its magnetic cable to the dome. Once each dome reached its location it would flood their ballast tanks and slowly sink down until they were a hundred meters off the ocean floor. A cable would be attached to each dome and it would be drawn down to a set of specially designed blocks buried in the ocean floor. Each of the blocks had a ten meter around titanium bolt that would attach to the bottom of the dome and pull it down to the bottom of the surface. The bolts would keep the dome in place and prevent it from moving during an underwater quake or any heavy currents.

"Dome three released, third submarine is closing with the dome," the com officer reported.

"Very well…"

"Sir, we have a freighter approaching for landing," came a report from the Dradis station.

"Who is it? Ship class?" Richard asked as he turned towards the massive dradis station and the officer stationed there.

"It's the _Concord_ carrying medical and surgical supplies for distribution to the domes hospitals. She's a _Kimba Huta_ class freighter," Kyla McKinney reported.

Richard checked the ship class for the docks statistics and started issuing orders to the crew, "Alright people, let's get to work. We have an inbound freighter that needs unloading. Contact the deck officers and get their crews up and at their stations. They will need three rolling platforms to unload her and two hoists if her central bays are loaded as well. Kyle, set condition yellow throughout the dock let everyone know we have an incoming ship."

Alarms started sounding throughout the massive dock and the orders given to the crew. Out on the main deck, small hoists and vehicles darted to safety as the rumbling of heavy engines were heard by the deck crew. In the distance, lightning started flashing and thunder shattered the air and several crew watched the storm clouds roll in anger. The clouds parted and the hull of the freighter came into view as it split the clouds asunder. At two thousand meters, its thrusters started flaring as the ship turned towards the dock and lined up for landing. Steam burst from several points under the huge ship and its landing legs lowered from their bays. The speakers blared and the deck crew looked up at the nearest one.

"All hands prepare to receive the Concord. She is packed full of supplies for the hospitals. Teams one through three will work on the forward cargo hold. Teams four through six have the stern hold. Teams seven through ten have the upper cargo holds. All supplies are labeled to what dome they're supposed to go to. That is all."

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**Azure Station;**

**Two weeks after deployment of the farm domes;**

**Upper tier Dock One;**

**Commander's Quarters;**

Peter sat in his chair watching as the last of the freighters that had arrived headed for Azure station. Currently there were six passenger liners, fourteen freighters, and three ore haulers waiting to dock or preparing to dock. The _Courageous_ was docked to the lower tier where her portside sub light engines were being repaired from a micro meteor hit that with a fluke of luck had torn apart one of the maneuvering thrusters. The rock had punched through the titanium screen and shattered the thruster including the igniter for the Tylium injector. The resulting explosion had shattered the engine and it was being rebuilt which would take a month as they manufactured the parts they needed.

Peter reached for his glass and took a sip of his tea. Setting it down, he turned to the next report and sighed as he read the report of casualties. Twenty-four personal injured, three critical with four dead due to the accident on the _Courageous_ the wounded were being treated and the dead we're being prepared for burial on the Capri isle which was the largest island on the water world. There were also six injured on Azure station when a cable for one of the elevators snapped and a single death from Sagittaron River Flu. Sitting up, he read the report because the river flu was deadly.

Reaching for the handset, he pressed several buttons and said, "This is Admiral Gallant patch me through to Azure Station medical bay. I need to speak to Doctor Linda Drake."

"Yes, Sir, right away, Sir," came the response and the phone went to music.

Two minutes later the phone was picked up again, "This is Drake."

"Doctor, this is Admiral Gallant. I've been going over your report. How sure are you its SRF?" Peter asked.

"It's negative on SRF. Why she died, we don't know. I have ruled out several diseases that could have killed her... It's almost like radiation poisoning but it's not. The woman… A Tanya Έξι arrived four days ago aboard the freighter _Goliath_ and was on day three of her quarantined for relocation to dome one. Two nights ago she came to medical complaining about an upset stomach and coughing at thirteen hundred hours. We checked her over and were going to release her when she started coughing. One of the techs handed her a cloth and when she lowered it, there was blood on it. Doctor Grange immediately ordered chest x-rays and by eighteen hundred hours she was delirious and sweating. Her temperature hit forty-eight Celsius. She was stripped and given an ice bath to bring down her temperature as more blood was drawn and her temperature continued to climb and reached fifty-three Celsius before she succumbed to whatever was affecting her. Now I need you to know, she was apparently healthy in her lifestyle her, BMI was on par with very few toxins in her system. She didn't smoke, but did indulge in Ambrosia for dinner that night before coming in. I am waiting on necropsy reports now, but Sir, it's starting to look like she was poisoned. When the reports get back I'll let you know if she was. She was also single, had no family and left no will. She was recently hired on Virgon as a system analyst to work in dome one's resource division. What should we do with her remains?" Linda asked.

"Well if it's not SRF, then I won't worry about it and leave it to the station security to figure out if she was murdered. As to her remains, since she has neither surviving family nor a will, have her prepared for burial and we'll send her body to Capri Isle to be interned with the rest of the dead we have lost while in the system... Linda, have the charges sent to me and I'll pay for them… it's the least I can do for one of my employees," Peter said as he hung up the handset and turned back to the stacks of reports.

"I really need some more aides," Peter said as he opened a report on fuel expenditures for the fleet.

Two hours later, Peter closed another of the folders and picked up his tea cup. Looking at the empty cup, he stood up and went into the small kitchen and checked the pot and saw it was empty as well. Quickly filling the pot, he poured it into the machine and filled the container with four tea bags. As the tea started brewing, he walked back out to his office, stopped at his desk and hit the recorder to record his thoughts. He then walked over to the bathroom door. Jumping up, he grabbed the bar and started doing pull ups as he thought of the mission and how it was going.

"Thought log, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, day one hundred and ten, mission year five. Section one of the day log. The last of the Farm domes are in place and connected to the transit tubes with construction almost completed on the remaining apartment buildings in City Dome Two and Three. Dome One has a population of nine thousand seven hundred families of Milcove personal.

"We are expecting the delivery of ten million tons of Aerilon fertilizer which has been packed and bagged into two hundred and fifty kilogram bags in the next three weeks. The bags of fertilizer were packed aboard ten of the Milcove _Mule_ class freighters. The fertilizer will be used to form the base of the farms. By this time next year the farm domes should be producing food crops. I have begun the purchase of cattle and swine to be brought in late next year and if all goes well, they should be harvesting their first beef and pork products in two years. I have also looked into bringing some horses.

"Section two of the day log. For defense, all the major islands have had several batteries of ground to space ship killer missiles installed or planned to be installed once construction of the silos are finished. The largest island on the planet we named Capri after one of the island chains on Caprica. I've planned for forty underground launchers alone with four missiles per battery. There will also be a hundred anti-missile batteries when construction is finished along with Raptor and Viper bases.

"Section three of the day log. The one thing that I had installed in the underwater domes was something that the Aquaria domes don't have. Each dome has been modified with defense shields that could cover every part of the twenty inch thick plassteal glass to give it a secondary defense verses the concussion of a nuclear hit on the surface. While not under attack, the shields were folded up inside the outer parts of the armored frame. But during the attack, they would slide out and cover the domes clear surface. Theoretically the armor which is as strong as the Mercury class Battlestar armor, should stop the concussion wave up to a fifty megaton blast and I pray that it will work, because the domes will be his people's salvation when the Cylons came back.

"Section four of the day log. For air defense, we've built or planned fifteen underground airfields that will house three hundred Mark IV Vipers while another ten will house the two hundred Mark II Raptors for planetary defense. Each airfield will have housing, mechanic bays, armories and a small medical bay to house the air wing. As to planetary support, I know it's not much compared to the twelve colonies, but it does add the equivalent of two _Mercury_ class Battlestars to the equation. Hopefully we'll have time to add more and build more bases but deep down in my soul, I know we're running out of time. Why this feeling is hitting me? I don't know.

"Section five of the day log. I have ordered four more domes to be built out at Milcove Construction Station. Each of the new domes will be as large as one of our city domes. I want each of these domes to be used as warehouses for supplies for all the domes. With the layout of the city domes, which are laid out in a seven star formation with the sixty smaller domes scattered on the outside of the star I decided each of the warehouse domes will be inside the star Each dome has multiple under water tubes connecting transit tubes that will connect each of the city domes. These supply depots would hold enough supplies for years.

"Section six of the day log. I received the confirmation of new assets from Aquaria. We have successfully purchased, three old cargo subs used for the fishing industry and fifty fishing trawlers along with their crews and families. I have ordered the scrapping of twenty other boats, and the construction of twenty-eight new ones, each of the fishing trawlers range from one hundred and forty tons to seven hundred tons. I have also requested my agents to purchases the ship plans for all of the different trawlers used on Aquaria, Picon and Caprica as well as the cargo subs just in case we need to produce our own. The building of the docks for the trawlers will be completed in thirty days. The harbor we found, we found by luck due to a break in the canopy on Capri Isle. When I sent Raptors to scout the islands of the planet for defense bases, Captain Richard Dent from Caprica noticed that there was water under several parts of the canopy on the island. Landing on a small strip of sand, Richard realized that the area he saw overgrown with a thick overhang of vines and climbing trees. The entrance Captain Dent found was large enough for small ships to enter on the water or for three Raptors to fly abreast. Well Dent Harbor was found and named by the finder, the natural harbor I decided that the harbor would be the perfect place for a hidden fishing base. The harbor that was just over four kilometers wide and five long with small scattered islands that had the same tree growing on it. The docks took three months to install and with several transplanted trees along the center of each dock, they reinforced the canopy where it had to be hacked out to allow the ships to dock. We started building a road to connect them all together and last night the central dock was dropped off and towed into the harbor. The center dock is wide enough for six cargo subs to dock inside. Right now a thousand construction workers were covering the top of the reinforced dock with several thousand pounds of dirt for the planting of the trees to add to the canopy. The dock, once up and running will be used for as the pickup point for all the boats catches for transport to either to the station or the underwater cities. Capri Isle was in the northern hemisphere and about one hundred and seventy kilometers north of auxiliary dome fifty-three. One of the underwater transit tubes came ashore near the harbor and the entrance was heavily camouflaged to hide it. It was also mined to be exploded if the Cylons landed on the island. Dome fifty-three's population would consist of the fishing fleet's families or workers in the ten canneries that will be built in the dome.

"Section seven of the day log. Azure Station is now fully up and running. The refinery is processing Tylium ore into the much needed fuel for the fleet while the foundries are working twenty-four hours a day producing ingots of steel, titanium, copper and other metals to be melted down into the parts that will be needed. Currently they were working on building a large enough stockpile to start repairing the ships Admiral Corman had sent them to defend the system.

"Section eight of the day log. I was as going over the current tally of ships. We now had thirty-nine warships that were rescued from the reclamation yards of Picon and Scorpio and on paper, they were a formidable force, but that's just on paper. It seems that all of the ships had some type of stripping done to them. The fleet of ships consisted of two old first run _Jupiter_ class Battlestars. Which have been partially stripped in the main hull while their flight pod launchers had been ripped out along with thirty percent of their heavy KEWs. Of the lighter warships, there were nine of the first series of _Titan I_ Gunstars with no weapons or computers. The three old _Alberio_ class cruisers from before the war were gutted. The two fleet tenders still had all their repair equipment, but their FTL drives were gone alone with two of their four sub light engines. There were fourteen old _Apollo I_ class corvettes from Picon that had every weapon and mount stripped out of them along with their FTL drives/ The biggest gift from Corman was the two old _Ballast III_ class fleet ferries that had been retired last year. Both are in mint condition with just needing new computers to run the main bay. There were also seven old _Harrier_ class Marinestars that were retired three years ago. Note to self, have them checked to see their still atmospheric capable. Of the civilian fleet, there were over fifty different ships ranging from freighters to liners to agro to electronic to an old prison scow that was over fifty years old.

"Section Nine of the day log. Viper construction is proceeding smoothly on building the old Mark IV's, but the question is should dump the Mark IV Vipers and go with the newer Mark VI's. The only problem I see, is we'd have to copy the moulds for the Mark VI and ship them out here while we already had the old IV's. There's a report of a rumor that Picon Industries has been working on a new version called the Mark VII. Note to self, send a message to Nagala and ask if it's true. As to the Mark IV that one thing I like is R&D developed a version if it works that that can fly by wireless, which we cannot let anyone know about back in the Colonial Government because if they find out what we've developed, they'd have us in prison so fast that our asses would still be here on the _Defiant_ while the rest of was shoved through the cell doors. That's if they didn't space him out an air lock…"

"Attention all hands, this is the executive officer speaking. Set condition Red throughout the ship, I repeat set condition red. Admiral please report to the bridge… I repeat… Set condition Red throughout the ship."

Peter released the bar and dropped to the floor as the lights turned from white to red. He was out the door and running for the ramp to take him up to the CIC before Colonel Hanks second set of commands was repeated.

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**Special Note:**

**Έξι means six in Greek**

**Sorry its taken so long, but been having computer issues.**

_**. **_

_**. **_

_**. **_

1*1*1*1

_**. **_

_**. **_

_**. **_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_**First Edited By **_

_**Final Edit By **_

_**. **_

_**. **_

_**. **_

Battlestar Galactica™ is a registered trademark and copyright (©) Glen Larson & the SciFi Channel. Thank you to the Battlestar Wiki and The Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game, Battlestar Prometheus have proven invaluable for the information they contain. All material found in this story is for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement should be inferred or is intended. Battlestar Sword and all its original characters and story lines presented here are the copyright (©) of their creator (©) 2010.


	4. D&C Ch 03

**.**

**.**

**Defiant and the Courageous**

**. **

**. **

**Chapter Three**

,

,

**.**

**The Cylons were created by Man.**

**They were created to make life easier on the Twelve Colonies.**

**And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.**

**After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.**

**The Cylons left for another world to call their own.**

**A remote space station was built...**

**...where Cylon and Human could meet and maintain diplomatic relations.**

**Every year, the Colonials send an officer.**

**The Cylons send no one.**

**No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years...**

**.**

**Until Now.**

,

,

**.**

**Deep space; **

**Five years before the attack;**

**CIC of the Battlestar **_**Defiant;**_

Peter ran onto the CIC of the Battlestar _Defiant_ and shouted, "SITREP!"

"Sir, the cargo ship _Glowworm_ just jumped in, they report they've been boarded by pirates," the COM officer reported.

"Location of the _Glowworm_?"

"Just outside the tunnel entrance," the COM officer replied, "she reports that she has damage to several compartments of the ship from medium KEWS.

"Take us towards the tunnel, contact the _Cutter_ and have her leave her position and render aid to the _Glowworm's_ crew. Launch the alert Vipers and head towards the tunnel," Peter ordered as he came to a stop at the Dradis station, "Class and crew complement of the _Glowworm_."

"She's a _Prometheus_ class cargo ship with a crew of one hundred and forty with twenty security troops. The _Glowworm_ is bringing in fifty families to settle in dome three along with general cargo," reported Colonel Howard Hanks as he flipped through some papers clipped to a clipboard.

"Captain Anders reports that the pirates have taken over cargo bay three and four. Estimated count is ninety-five hostiles. He has ten dead and five critically wounded from the boarding," the COM officer said as the _Defiant_ started moving towards the tunnel exit.

"_Cutter_ reports another ship has appeared… it's a _Firestar_ type II, no ID on her," the COM officer reported, "and she's opened fire on the _Glowworm_."

"Notify the _Cutter_ to take her down," Peter ordered as the _Defiant_ entered the tunnel as a second wave of Vipers was launched from the flight pods.

The seconds counted down, and on the main screen, Peter could see the exit of the tunnel ahead as twenty Vipers from Griffin and Hydra squadrons exited before them, their engines on full burn.

"Put the Viper's frequency up," Peter ordered.

"Yes, Sir," Howard said as he flipped several switches.

"Griffin one to all Griffin birds, target the _Firestar's_ guns. Hydra Squadron, cover those Marine Raptors heading for the _Glowworm_," Captain Janet Hawks ordered.

A series of replies came from the Vipers and then the commander of Hydra Squadron reported in.

"You got it Ma'am," Lieutenant Harvey Bent replied from his position as the head of Hydra Squadron, "All Hydra birds, form on me and protect those Raptors heading for the _Glowworm_."

"_Cutter_ has opened fire on the _Firestar_. The ship is trying to run, but the _Cutter_ is too close… Direct hit on her main engine, she's coming to a stop. Vipers have engaged the _Firestar_, weapon emplacements," the COM officer reported as the _Defiant_ exited the tunnel and the main screen changed to show the three ships with sixty Vipers and ten Raptors in the air.

"Raptors are landing aboard the _Glowworm_," Howard said as he pointed towards the image of the red and white ship.

"I see that. Notify the Marines I want prisoners," Peter said as the _Defiant_ turned towards the _Firestar_, "Get me that _Firestar_ on the horn."

"Yes, Sir," the COM officer replied as she flipped several switches and said, "This is the Battlestar _Defiant_ to the _Firestar_, you're ordered to respond."

Static came back as Peter walked over to the communications station and looked over the console at the young woman.

"No reply, Sir," the officer said.

Peter grabbed the handset mounted to the console, and looked at the girl.

"Line one, Sir," she said as she pressed several keys on her keypad.

"This is Admiral Peter of the Battlestar _Defiant_. You have thirty seconds to stand down and surrender or I'll blow your ship to oblivion. _Defiant_, out," Peter snapped out as he hung up the handset.

Everyone in the CIC watched the nearby digital clocks as the time counted down. As it hit ten seconds the COM station flashed and the COM officer hit the intercom button.

"This is the _Black Death_, we surrender," came a voice over the intercom

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**S.S. **_**Glowworm**_**;**

Colonel Rachel Hasp looked out the main window of her assault Raptor as it entered the number six flight bay and landed on the clear deck. Around her craft, seven more Raptors came in and landed as the doors closed behind them. Eight hatches popped open and six marines exited from each craft and started forming up into four platoons of twelve marines. With their heavy armor and weapons they moved out into the ship, each had a destination in mind. One squad headed for the bridge while a second headed for the massive engine room in the stern. The third and fourth squads followed the colonel and headed for cargo bay three to engage the pirates.

Rachel came to a stop at one of the large wall mounted maps of the ship, "OK, listen up you grunts, Captain Anders says they have the pirates contained in bay's three and four. Estimated enemy combatants is ninety hostiles left. We will take each bay individually. Lieutenant Briers, you'll take your team through the ventilation and pin those bastards down. I'll lead team four through the access door over by small flight repairs. We'll spread out into three four man teams. Make sure you cover your asses. Can do?"

"CAN DO!" the marines shouted back.

"Then lock and load," Rachel ordered as she checked her assault rifle, and then said, "Fix bayonets."

Rachel pulled her foot long bayonet out and attached it to her rifle. Checking her marines, she saw that everyone had their weapons ready.

"Ok, let's go," she ordered and headed down the hall with her squad right behind her.

Traveling through the corridors of the heavy cargo ship, they reached the door she wanted and she held up a small camera and panned it from left to right. On the small screen she saw the pirates loading up a pair of heavy shuttles with crates from the hold while four marines set charges on the door to blow.

"Ok, looks like their loading their shuttles with some of the crates from the hold. We have ten standing guard while about twenty are working on the crates," she said as she turned her mic on, and asked, "Squad two are you in position?"

"Almost, three more teams to set up. I can see the shuttles and the pirates working on the cargo. Looks like there are five or six bodies against the bulkhead wall where they were dragged out of the way... last team is in position," Lieutenant Briers reported.

"We're falling back to around the corner right now, when we blow the door, start taking them out," Rachel ordered as she followed her marines around the corner.

"Yes, Ma'am, squad two out," Briers reported.

"We ready?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," the demo officer replied.

"Then blow the door in ten seconds. Cover your ears people," Rachel ordered as she pressed her hands against her ears.

The explosion hurled the door into the room, while dust and smoke billowed down the hallway where they were standing.

Lowering her hands, she shouted, "MARINES!" and she took off running into the room.

Spotting two of the pirates raising their weapons, Rachel cut loose with a five second burst. The two pirates started jerking as bullets started tearing them apart. They were both dead before they hit the floor as her marines cut loose on the rest of the pirates. Sixty seconds later the last pirate in the room went down under the combined rifle fire of the two platoons. Two marines ran into each shuttle and took out the flight crews before they could shut the doors.

"Alright, check the bodies, make sure their KIA or POW. Then we head out for…"

Gunfire shattered the air as fifteen pirates poured out of the access port that connected the main passageways of the ship. Two marines went down with a dozen holes in their backs as the rest of the marines dove for cover.

"What the frak? How'd they get in without being spotted?" Rachel shouted out as she opened fire on a group of three pirates.

"Not sure Ma'am. I had Hanson and Bates watching that door," Lieutenant Richard Briers replied as he tossed a fragmentation grenade behind a stack of crates that was protecting a group of pirates.

The explosion hurled several pirates out from behind their cover as the deadly shrapnel ripped through their light armored vests.

Rachel rolled and fired at one of the men facing her and he dropped with a bullet to his head while the remaining two pirates dove for cover. Rachel flicked the ejector and slammed a new clip in as she ducked behind the landing skid of the shuttle. Coming around, she aimed at a large crate that was protecting several of the pirates and fired a short burst. Explosive rounds ripped the corner apart and a body fell forward missing its head.

Twenty automatic rifles started firing on full auto into the pirate's cover, ripping it to shreds. Pirates returned fire, but they were quickly silenced by the superior training and firepower of the Colonial Marines. The last four pirates sprinted for the exit and they were cut down by rifle fire before they could reach the doors.

"Squad One, form on me, Squad Two, check them and make sure any survivors are treated and searched. Squad One, let's go," Rachel ordered and started walking towards the door the pirates had come through just minutes before.

As Rachel led her marines towards the other cargo hold, Marines from the _Defiant_ were boarding the surrendered _Firestar_. What they found inside the warships hull, would send all the pirates to the airlocks.

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**CIC of the Battlestar **_**Defiant;**_

Peter sat in his chair, a cup of coffee in the holder next to his right hand as he listened to the feedback coming in from his Marines spreading out through the damaged _Black Death_. From what he could make out, the ship had taken heavy damage to its engine room and main weaponry with a hit to the medical bay.

"Any count on survivors?" Peter asked.

"Marines are herding the pirates into the main mess where their under guard while the search the rest of the ship for stragglers and survivors…" the COM officer reported and then stopped as her hand came up to her ear and she went pale as she listened. "Roger Captain Henderson, I'll tell the admiral."

"What is it?" Peter asked as he looked at the young woman as tears started to flow down her cheeks.

"Sir, they found two hundred and thirty-nine survivors of _Picon Razor_…"

"That's the liner that went missing with all those children onboard," Colonel Hanks blurted out.

"Yes, she had five hundred and sixty children, four hundred parents and a crew of two hundred and fifty. My seventeen year old cousins were on board the ship," the girl cried out as she started shaking.

"Lieutenant Steward, your relived. Report to medical," Peter ordered as he reached for the handset and pressed the buttons on the console, "This is Admiral Gallant I am dispatching two shuttles to the _Black Death_. I want those children loaded up and sent to the station for medical attention. Bring me those in charge of the _Black Death_."

"Yes, Sir… Sir?" a voice came back from the handset.

"Yes?" Peter asked.

"You better tell the station that most of the children have been raped or physically abused," the voice said.

"Thank you, I'll notify the station. _Defiant_ out," Peter replied as he hung the handset up.

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**Five years before the attack;**

**Eight days after the pirate attack on the **_**S.S. Glowworm;**_

**Admiral's Office aboard the Battlestar **_**Defiant;**_

Peter was going over the reports for the ship and the reports of the attack on the _Glowworm_ had been forwarded to the Admiralty and he was reading their response and orders. Leaning back, he rubbed his eyes and then reached for his coffee as he waited for his second in command to arrive in his office.

"What a mess," he said aloud as he set his cup down when a knock on his door had his attention, "Enter."

Colonel Howard Hanks walked into the room, clutched in his right hand was folder and he had a smile that ran from ear to ear.

"What's up Colonel?" Peter asked as he reached for his sandwich.

"Two things well actually three. First we know where they got the _Black Death_; she's the _ex_-_Battleaxe_ that was retired four years ago to the boneyard. They pirates using a contact in the shipping control center for the boneyard had the ship moved to the far side of the yard where she was quietly taken out and jumped away before her engines could be drained. She was there for less than a week before she was taken. Second they also have three more of them. The _Hatchet, Gremlin_ and _Grouse_ all retired under Adar's orders, all sent to the boneyard to be scrapped all taken within a week of being left there. They also have four _Apollo_ I class corvettes that they use for messaging and tracking of ships they want and third. I have exact coordinates to the pirate base they are using…"

"You're shitting me!" Peter blurted out.

"No, seems like one of the pirates is deadly afraid of water. We dropped him on a two foot by two foot rock out in the middle of the ocean with a transmitter. Told him to let us know when he wanted to talk," Howard replied with a smirk as he set the file down and opened it. Withdrawing a photo, he said, "They built themselves a nice little hideaway using an old bore mining facility built back before the first war."

"What about defenses?" Peter asked as he picked up the pictures taken from the _Black Death's_ mainframe.

"Twenty point defense weapons around the mouth of the main bore, but other than that, none on the outside," Howard replied as he pointed out each point defense position.

"Looks like they were taken from a decommissioned ship," Peter stated as he picked up a magnifying glass and examined the picture more closely.

"Not sure but the pirate that talked said it takes ten minutes to man them because of the long tunnels that have to run to get there. The one thing I'm worried about is this," Howard said sliding a second photo over.

Peter grabbed the photo and lined up the glass and gasped out, "Oh frak me."

"Yeah, eight duel mounted 100mm KEWS. They'll tear any incoming ship apart that comes into the bore," Howard stated, and then said, "and this is how'll we will take them out. With your permission that is, Admiral."

Howard started laying out the mission he had planned, "By using some of the specially trained marines you formed, seven Raptors will jump in behind the asteroid and then we send forty-eight marines EVA to the asteroid. They enter through the bore and plant explosives at the base of each gun turret. If the marines do the job right, the explosions should wreck each gun, leaving them opening open for the rest of the Raptors to come in with the attack force. Then we rescue all those pretty girls."

"You're bad. Ok, we'll take the _Defiant_ and the _Titan I_ Gunstars _Cutter, Revenge, Briseis, _and_ Jasper. The Cutter _and_ Revenge _will go in with gun pods while the _Briseis_ and _Jasper_ will be assault mode. That should be more than enough to handle any resistance. Get the ships and marines ready," Peter ordered and handed the photos back.

"Already underway and we should be ready to go in three hours," Howard replied as he slipped the photos back into the folder, "See you on the bridge."

"I'll, be there," Peter stated as he pulled another folder towards him and he said as Howard was walking to the door, "Howard, find me some help."

"Yes, Sir," Howard replied and stepped out of the office.

Peter sighed and went over the resource expender list.

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**Five years before the attack;**

**Eight days after the pirate attack on the **_**S.S. Glowworm;**_

**CIC of the Battlestar **_**Defiant;**_

Peter stood near the Dradis station as the _Defiant_ left the tunnel and took up position among the four Gunstars of the defense fleet. The CIC was humming with activity and revenge, revenge for the _Picon Razor_ survivors and what they had gone through. Down on the flight deck, the Viper pilots were waiting in their fighters to be launched when they came out of fold while the marines wearing their chunky all black EVA suits were boarding the six black Raptors that would carry them to the asteroid. Aboard the _Briseis_ and _Jasper_, some eight hundred marines were waiting to assault the asteroid to rescue the prisoners in forty-eight Raptors and four shuttles.

Peter picked up the handset and pressed the fleet wide, "This is Admiral Gallant, and in a few minutes we'll be jumping to a section of the Zodia belt to launch the first part of the rescue of the survivors from the _Picon Razor_. We have a mission when we became Colonial service members and that was to protect the innocent. Right now, several hundred civilian children are going through hell as slaves and targets of rape and murder. We shall not allow that to continue. And right now, eight hundred marines are prepared to take the pirate base and free them. Colonel Hasp of the Marine Corps has vowed this. Colonel Hanks has vowed this and so do I. Let's go rescue some civilians. So help us all. All hands, set condition yellow throughout the rescue fleet, we'll jump in a few minutes."

Peter was watching the Dradis screen when Howard walked over, "We're ready to jump."

"Then jump the fleet," Peter said with a dry voice.

Ten seconds later the five ships vanished into FTL and appeared in a small three star system sixteen light years from Azure system. The system had one minor asteroid belt that was being mined by ten mining ships belonging to Milcove. With a quick data burst, a signal was sent to the three patrol cutters that guarded the mining ships from danger. No response was required and the ships jumped again as soon as their FTL coils were recharged. Five jumps later they appeared alongside the edge of the Zodia belt. As soon as the ships stabilized and everything was checked,

Down on the hanger deck, Marines pulled their EVA helmets on and checked their systems and equipment once more. With everything coming up green, the Marines strapped themselves in as the hatches started closing. Each marine knew they could die, but as long as the prisoners were rescued, they wouldn't let it bother them.

"Raptors are launching," the CAG reported.

"Thank you, and you better get down to your Viper," Peter replied as seven small blips appeared on the Dradis screen and then they vanished.

"Now we wait," Howard said as he leaned on the rail and pulled out one of his cigar to chew on.

"Yep," Peter replied and then asked, "Did I tell you we got the new contract for the Titan II's?"

"No, when do we start building them?" Howard asked.

"First one is being laid now over at the foundry. We have an order of twenty of them, the first to be delivered next year along with several of the pod designs as well. I've ordered the construction of four Gunstar docks at Azure so we can build them faster for the fleet, but that will take six months to complete. I do know this. Those Gunstars are going to be a deadly craft once they are completed," Peter stated.

"Enclosed or open docks?" Howard asked as he checked the clock.

"Two of each," Peter replied as one of the lieutenants came over with two large coffees and handed him one, "Thank you Lieutenant Grey."

The young woman blushed and replied, "You're welcome Admiral. Colonel, cream and four sugars, just like you like it."

"Thank you Jessie," Howard replied as he grasped the cup and took a large sip, "Ahhh that hits the spot."

Time counted down, and fifty minutes after the Raptors jumped away, one reappeared.

"Message from Raptor 736. Charges set, detonation in fifteen minutes. Marines have pulled back to the opening and set charges on the point defense guns and will blow them when the Raptors appear."

"Very good. Contact the _Briseis_ and _Jasper_ to start launching the assault Raptors and shuttles. Jump time is in fourteen minutes in thirteen minutes, the fleet is to go to condition red," Peter ordered.

"Yes, Sir, contacting the _Briseis_ and _Jasper_ now," the COM officer replied.

On the Dradis screen, forty eight Raptors and two heavily armored shuttles launched to form up for the mission. When the timer hit thirteen minutes the alarms sounded throughout all five ships. One minute later the FTL engines were completely spun up for the jump.

"Jump the fleet in sixty seconds. I want us right outside the entrance to the bore," Peter ordered as the counter hit zero.

Five ships appeared next a large asteroid that dwarfed the two thousand meter long Battlestar. On the monitor, the cameras were already coming in focus of the bore shaft that was three hundred meters around. The last of the Raptors were heading into the bore as the _Defiant_ came broadside to the entrance with all her portside batteries pointing down the bore. Vipers were launching from their tubes aboard the _Defiant_ and taking up cover over the massive ship.

"Sir, Raptor 98 reports that that they're boarding the pirate ships docked inside. They are requesting more marines," the COM officer reported.

"Launch the reserve strike," Peter ordered, and then said, "What ships are inside?"

"Sir, Captain Hincks reports sighting two of the _Firestar's_ and three cutters along with three freighters and the liner _Picon Razor,"_ came back the report.

"Very good, now get me this Delink who is in charge over there," Peter ordered as he turned back to the monitor.

"Yes, Sir," the COM officer replied and then he said into his microphone, "This is the Battlestar _Defiant_ demanding to speak to Delink, you have sixty seconds to respond."

"Howard, have the bays bring up third and fourth squadrons for a two minute launch," Peter said as he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

"Yes, Sir," Howard replied as the COM officer called out.

"Sir, Delink is on line one."

Peter grabbed the handset and smashed his finger into the one, "Delink. You have one minute to surrender or else. _Defiant_ out!"

"Marines are encountering resistance, but Colonel Hasp is rolling through them like a hot butter knife," the COM officer reported.

"Good. Howard, have each ship draw up a hundred volunteers to man those ships once they are captured," Peter said as the alarm sounded.

"Dradis contact, three targets!" the dradis officer called out.

"On the screen," Peter ordered as his eyes went to the Dradis screen to see three blood red icons with forty vipers closing on them.

"_Destiny_, be advised I have one _Firestar_, an _Apollo_ cutter and a bulk freighter in close proximity of each other," the CAG reported.

"Turn the bow toward the Firestar and prepare to open fire. Get me the captain of that ship…"

"Course change to 72 degrees to port up 3 degrees on the bow," the helm replied as the huge ship swung its alligator head around.

"Firestar has opened fire on the Vipers. Six hit, four destroyed. I have chair beacons. Cutter and freighter are withdrawing. Ten missiles inbound towards the _Defiant_," the CAG's voice came over the speakers.

"AA batteries are targeting the missiles," Howard reported as the small defense guns opened up.

"Their nuts! Open fire," Howard stated as the bow of the _Defiant_ came around and the big 150mm main guns fired.

_Defiant_ shuddered as the four bow mounted guns opened up. One ton projectiles flew through space at half the speed of light towards the smaller warship. The first two missed, but the second two slammed into the midsection of the lightly armed ship. Explosions detonated from the side of the ship as the armor piercing rounds ripped deep into the ships vital parts. Ten seconds after they hit, a chain reaction disintegrated the smaller warship from existence.

"Order that cutter and freighter to heave to, or I'll open fire," Peter ordered.

"Sending now…" the COM officer replied and then snapped out, "Sir, their surrendering."

"Good, now get me Delink again," Peter ordered.

"SAR one reports the recovery of two of our pilots," the CAG reported.

"Colonel Hasp is on line four."

"Raptors are on the way to the cutter and freighter from the _Briseis, _and_ Jasper."_

The reports came in fast now that battle for the asteroid was underway.

Peter grabbed the handset again, and pressed the four key, "Colonel, how goes it?"

"Sir, we've rescued three hundred slaves, killed fifty-nine pirates and captured two hundred and six. From what the former slaves have told us, we've taken half their base including their armory and the ships docked. Delink is regrouping his people and I'm expecting a charge any minute. Can you dispatch more marines," Colonel Hasp said.

"They're on the way. Colonel, do try and capture this Delink for me, but don't sacrifice any troops to do so. If you have to mow them down, do so," Peter ordered.

"Yes, Sir," Hasp out.

"Now we wait," Peter said as he sat back in his chair.

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**Five years before the attack;**

**Sixteen days after the pirate attack on the **_**S.S. Glowworm;**_

**CIC of the Battlestar **_**Defiant;**_

Peter looked at the communiqué from Admiral Nagala and frowned. The communiqué was about the pirate prisoners and what to do with them. Nagala was giving him three choices. Space them, give them a trial and then execute the worst of the guilty ones or just dump a few of them on the hundreds of islands that inhabit the far side of the planet. As to the rescued slaves, he was suggesting that they be merged into the civilian workforce and that he would quietly talk with the survivor's families and see about them joining their loved ones on the new colony.

Rubbing his tired eyes he set the communiqué to the side and looked over the inventory of the recovered goods from the asteroid. The biggest assets were the two Firestars and four cutters captured. The fourth cutter had jumped back in the next day and was quickly captured along with the small freighter that it was accompanying. Setting that list to the side, he already had a plan for the former pirate stronghold that would work in their favor as he reached for the handset mounted to his desk. Picking up the handset, he pressed the number for his second in command.

"Howard, give the prisoners their trial. Once their tried, space the worst ones and the ones you think can be redeemed, we'll set up small camps of one hundred or so prisoners on the far side of the planet using the smaller islands. I don't want any of them closer than two hundred kilometers by air. We'll supply each group with basic housing, food and living supplies, farming tools, seed stock and fishing canoes along with book/video readers with solar power cells. No sat-links, com units or any radio transmitters, but receivers are authorized," Peter ordered.

"Are you sure?" Howard asked.

"Yes. Also make sure they have a hurricane bunker since the planet is prone to them," Peter said.

"Ok, I'll get right on it. Remember you're due to board the _Lusitania_ to head back to Milcove station for the next month at 0800 hundred hours," Howard stated.

"I know. I'm going to hit the sack now. Make sure the duty watch has me up by six," Peter stated as he hung up the handset and headed for bed.

**.**

**1~1~1~1**

**.**

**Special Note: NONE**

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_**First Edited By **_

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Battlestar Galactica™ is a registered trademark and copyright (©) Glen Larson & the SciFi Channel. Thank you to the Battlestar Wiki and The Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game, Battlestar Prometheus have proven invaluable for the information they contain. All material found in this story is for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement should be inferred or is intended. Battlestar Sword and all its original characters and story lines presented here are the copyright (©) of their creator (©) 2010.


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